What did you do in the garden today?

[gtaus]

I've blanched a lot of veggies in the past and know what's involved, and at this point in my life I don't want to deal with having a big pot of water boiling on the stove, blanching small batches, cooling them in ice water, then waiting for them to drain. And repeating the process over and over again. I'm all about easy these days. LOL

I'm all about easy, as well. I don't know if blanching is worth the effort, or not, but my cooking instructors said you can taste the difference for stuff in the freezer for months. So, I plan on trying to blanch some veggies this year if we have excess beans.

 

[gtaus]

You can use any bags for vacuum sealers. I have a Ziploc vacuum sealer but they stopped making them so I use a different brand of bags. You do have to make sure that you get the seals right. If it has a tube on the top, remove the tube because it will prevent the bags from sealing properly.

Yep, I watched some YouTube videos on using plain old baggies in the vacuum sealer. I'm going to try that first just to make sure the sealer actually works. From what I understand, if you use the vacuum sealer a lot, it is cheaper to buy those rolls of vacuum sealer bags.

BTW, do you use your vacuum sealer very often? We often buy some kitchen gadget and lose interest in it in a relatively short period of time. I personally don't know of anyone who uses a vacuum sealer. So, I'm thinking Dear Wife might lose interest in this machine and it might not be worth investing in a roll of vacuum bags.

 

[Smokerbill]

I'm all about easy, as well. I don't know if blanching is worth the effort, or not, but my cooking instructors said you can taste the difference for stuff in the freezer for months. So, I plan on trying to blanch some veggies this year if we have excess beans.

Someone here posted something about blanching green beans in the microwave. You might research that to see if it's something you'd want to try.

 

[CNJ]

I am doing a productivity comparison with Miracle Grow potting mix, Kellog raised bed potting mix to my home-made potting mix. The bag of Miracle Grow potting mix cost $18 and the Kellog potting mix cost $14 and the bags are the same size. My mix has one part of peat, Kellog Amend, Gardener's topsoil and 2 parts coco chips. I will top dress the same amount of Epsoma organic fertilizer.

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

I wish they would pay some attention to who gets Covid, and who gets it bad. And who is totally missed. What, if any, are the commonalities?

Actually they are studying that at one of the hospitals in Boston.

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

I bought a food saver vacuum sealer last year. I really like it. I like to buy meat on sale and vacuum seal if so it lasts longer in the freezer. The food saver bags are also safe to use to put in a pot of boiling water to cook the food in the bag. This time of year my foodsaver stays on my kitchen countertop so it’s always ready to be used quickly.

 

[NanaK]

I have frozen beans and peas that were not blanched. I thought they had a funny off flavor so now I always blanch.

Last year I tried steam blanching my green beans. Now this we like so much better so I continued doing green beans this way this year. I think they don't taste so over cooked when I prepare a bag from the freezer.

I have frozen raw shredded zucchini and yellow squash. I used those in breads and muffins. I also added some in pasta sauce. A good way to hide in extra veggies! I never tried in soups but that sounds good too.

Always have extra squash and try to find new ways to use them.

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

I always blanch my beans, peas and greens. They retain their fresh flavor longer in the freezer.

 

[fuzzi]

We need a steady slow 27 inches to even break even. LOL.
I'm also a met, and been at it since 1986. Old enough to be Ryan's mom.

I'm not, but was hooked on meteorology in high school during a Meteorology elective course. Thanks, Mr. Lizewski!

 

[igorsMistress]

Good idea to keep some zinc on hand, as well.

Yup, have that too although it hasn’t ever done much for me.